Ben Polcaro broke his leg snowboarding this winter but still found a way to get down to the water's edge to do some casting Thursday.

According to the National Wildlife Federation, freshwater fishing is a $250 billion industry in Maine. But this industry and so many other industries that make Maine what it is are in jeopardy, according to scientists.

Environment Maine organized Thursday discussion on climate change.

"Climate change is really about the long-term climate trends rather than what's happening on a day-to-day or even a seasonal basis with our winter, and even though we've had a really brutal winter here in New England, we've seen really extremely warm temps across the country," Laura Dorle, with Environment Maine, said.

Scientists say the average annual tempearture in Maine has gone up by three degrees over the past century.

Ice out dates on lakes have moved back weeks.

King talked about how climate change has become a political hot potato.

"I cannot figure out how this became a partisan issue. This is science. We don't debate in Washington that light goes 186,000 miles a second. You know, there's not a Republican or Democratic position on the boiling temperature of water. This is science," King said.

King and others said Maine has an opportunity to lead the fight against global warming but, ultimately, the solution has to be worldwide one if it's going to work.

"The planet is on loan to us. We don't own it. It's on loan to us. It belongs to our kids and our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren for generations and generations, and we don't have any right to mess it up and give it back to them in worse shape than we got it," King said.

So what can people do? King said it could be something as simple as driving a more fuel-efficient car, but big-picture-wise, it will take action from lawmakers in Washington and all around the world.